


Moonlight

by NancyandNed



Series: Today Until Forever [3]
Category: Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Falling In Love, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Music, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:55:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23251285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NancyandNed/pseuds/NancyandNed
Summary: After months of being friends, Nancy and Ned go on their first date.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson
Series: Today Until Forever [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665985
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	Moonlight

"I just don't get it, Nancy. What's wrong with Caleb Myers?" 

Nancy knew even before she glanced at Ned, on the driver's side of the car, that he had that look on his face when he was really trying to figure something out. Lately she'd seen a lot of it.

"Nothing's wrong with him, Ned. It's just that I'm not looking to date him and he should get that. Why are you so bothered, anyway? What are you? His wingman or something?" Nancy was trying to keep the exasperation out of her voice.

That was the truth, there actually was nothing wrong with Caleb Myers. Nancy had known him since middle school and he was a perfectly good guy with above average grades and a spot in the school's track team. Good enough, that Bess had admitted that she would have been _thrilled_ if he had asked her out instead.

But he'd asked out Nancy. Not once. _Three_ freaking times in the last two months, the last one being just an hour back in Linda Powell's pool party. She had rejected him as many times.

Nancy had hoped Ned would understand that she'd felt frustrated because Caleb wouldn't take no for an answer. Instead, he'd just been surprised.

"Why would you think that, Nancy? You know I don't know him that well. But I do know there's a bunch of sophomore girls in my class who're majorly crushing on him and I've heard only good stuff about him. I guess I just don't quite understand why you'd reject a pretty awesome guy when it's obvious he really likes you. Repeatedly reject." Ned replied, not taking his eyes off the road.

_Because I like you._

But Nancy couldn't tell him that.

"You tell me, Ned. There was Cindy Sinclair who asked you out back in like December, I think and Laura Donnell last month. And they're cheerleaders!" Nancy tried to change the subject.

Ned was quiet for a while.

"Maybe cheerleaders just aren't my type." He said quietly.

She wondered what his type was but was glad when he changed the subject to their plans for the summer. School was getting over in just about three weeks and they were all excited for the vacations.

"Do you want to come in for a while? Hannah could make us some lemonade." Nancy asked as he entered the driveway of her house.

He shook his head.

"I promised my grandparents I'll help them carry some stuff down from the attic."

"Okay, cool. Thanks for the ride, Ned. I guess I'll see you in school on Monday?"

She was just about to climb out when he lightly grabbed her arm.

"No, Nan, wait. Will you go out with me tomorrow?" He spoke in a rush.

"Uhh what? Sure, it's Sunday and I don't have plans. What do you want to do?"

But Ned, just shook his head.

"No, Nan. That's not what I meant."

"What do you mean?"

"You're the detective, Drew. I know you'll figure it out." She could see that now, he was fighting to keep the smile off his face.

And then she connected the dots. 

He was blushing. The tips of his ears were scarlet. The thought she'd just had was so absurd, she'd almost laughed.   
But he was still looking at her, and she knew her expression must have given away what she'd thought.

"Do you..are you asking me out on a _date_ , Nickerson?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

He nodded, and Nancy could see his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Why?"

"Because I like you, Nancy. I've liked you for a long time but I just didn't know what to say because you're one of my best friends." He was looking away now.

Nancy flushed. She was sure her face looked like a tomato.  
"I like you too, Ned." She didn't know what else to say so she shifted her hand till it was clasped in his own.

She saw surprise flicker across his face which was immediately followed by a bashful smile that made Nancy's heart beat harder than it already was.

"Wow. So is that a yes on the date?"

"I guess I already said yes." Her tongue felt so heavy.

"I'll pick you up at five. We could watch the new movie you wanted to see. And then dinner maybe?" He was grinning ear to ear now.

"I'll be ready."

She was out of the car by now, but at the last second she leaned back in and lightly brushed her lips against his cheek. He smelled like cologne with a slight undertone of chlorine, from the pool earlier.

And before he could say anything else, she was running back to her house.

* * *

Nervous would have been a small way to put it. Ned was _terrified_.

He had planned to ask her out almost two months earlier. But then, George and Adam had broken up without any warning and there had been an awkward two week phase when the two wouldn't even look at each other. Nancy and Ned had traded awkward glances in the cafeteria almost everyday before following their respective childhood friends to separate tables. They'd still hung out but it had felt somewhat weird, like they were going behind their friends' backs. Adam had mentioned more than once that one of the worst things you could do was date a friend. 

That was before both he and George had realised that their friendship mattered more than their egos and they'd started talking again. Ned had then decided to wait a bit for things to get back to normal.

And then Caleb Myers had come into the picture. Ned had been more than glad when Nancy had rejected Caleb the first time. But the second time he'd just been surprised. From what he knew, Caleb was a good guy and he obviously cared enough about Nancy.  
Maybe she really didn't want to date.

Last evening, he'd blurted out his feelings before he'd even had the chance to think about it. He'd instantly felt both relieved and infinitely stupid. She would never go out with him and things would definitely become awkward between them.

But there she was, saying yes, saying she liked him too. And she had kissed him on the cheek.

He had smiled to himself the entire day and his mom had caught on.  
"Out with it." She'd demanded.  
"I have a date." He had replied simply.  
"With Nancy?" He had been shocked and she had answered his question before he'd had a chance to even ask it.  
"Let's just say I know my son too well. I practically knew since you brought her here for the first time." She'd said with a wink and then her voice had turned serious. "Nancy's a wonderful girl, Ned. Treat her well."

He'd wondered about what he should wear. Jeans were too casual and he didn't want to dress too formal. In the end he'd gone for a well fitted shirt and trousers.

  
He was at her house now. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the flowers he'd bought for her, got out of the car and walked to the door. His heart was beating a thousand times a minute when he rang the bell.  
Hannah opened the door.

"Ned! Honey, come in. Nancy's just getting ready. She'll be down in a minute. Oh those flowers are so lovely! Nancy loves tulips." Hannah smiled, ushering him inside.

Mr Drew was reading a file in the living room. Ned realized then that he'd never have had to talk to any girl's father before.

But their short talk was warm and cordial and he excused himself with only a message that Nancy should be back home by ten.

When Nancy came down the stairs, Ned was blown _away._ She was wearing a blue halter neck dress with low pumps. Her open hair looked red against the contrast. It made her eyes shine even brighter.

"Hi." He said.

"Hi. Thank you for the flowers." She smiled bashfully as she took them and arranged them in a vase. Then she came and linked her arm with his.

"Have fun, kids!" Hannah called out to them as they left. 

They didn't speak until they'd left her neighbourhood.

"You look really pretty, Nan." He said sneaking a glance at her.

She blushed, her nose turning red.

"You do too, Ned." Then she turned to face him. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I didn't know how you felt about me and the last thing I wanted was to lose you as a friend."

"But now you know." She smiled shyly. "So what are we doing today?"

"Movie first. And then I guess it'd be time for dinner. I was thinking we could go to that new French place by the lake? My parents were there last weekend and they really liked it."

The movie he'd suggested was a mystery thriller. Any other girl, he would have suggested a romance. But Nancy was not any girl. She was _her_. In any case, the movie was absolutely great and he felt a thrill go through him every time Nancy's face lit up when she made a connection before everyone else.

Ten minutes into the movie, her hand had brushed against his and he'd decided to go for it and hold it between his. She'd reciprocated with a gentle squeeze and he'd peeked to see that there was a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. The few times he'd held her hand, they'd always been cold. They were really tiny between his and he quite liked the idea of warming her up.

"That was the best movie I've seen all year!" Nancy beamed as they walked back to the car. "It was the sister all the time and nobody guessed it."

"Please, Nan. Don't be so modest. You definitely had it all figured out."

"No! Sure, I had my suspicions but I swear I wasn't sure until right at the end." Her eyes glinted mischievously. "You know Nickerson, the restaurant better be good. I don't think anything can top this."

But the food turned out to be even better.

"Okay, I take back my words. This is even better than the movie." Nancy sighed happily as they shared a chocolate soufflé. "I've got to tell Dad about this place. It really is beautiful."

" _Tu es belle_." Ned tried to imitate his best French accent.

" _Merci, mon chéri_." She giggled back. 

"So Nancy, we still have about an hour before you have to get back home? Do you want to check out the lake?"

"What are we waiting for?"

  
They took the car and drove about half a mile to the entrance of the mile long park that surrounded the southern part of Lake Moirie. It was more the size of a pond than a lake but it was pretty and clean despite being almost right in the middle of the city although recently there had been a spurt of new lakeside properties on the northern shore.

"You know, dad and I used to drive out here for picnics when I was younger. Brings back a lot of memories." Nancy said, as they walked hand in hand enjoying the cool breeze. The park was empty. The lone night jogger had left right after they'd arrived.

"My dad once told me that when he was very young, a tributary of the Muskoka river used to run right through here. Then there was this really awful drought one year and the river almost dried out. When the rains came back the next year, they realised that the river had changed its course and left this lake here." Ned said.

"I guess things change all the time." She whispered.

"Do you think this is weird? You know, you and me, us?" Ned both wanted to as well as did not want to know the answer.

"I guess, it was a little in the beginning. But that's because everything is changing so fast. I mean yesterday we were friends, today we're on a date." They had stopped walking and she had her head slightly cocked to the side as she spoke. "But it's a good kind of change. I could get used to this." 

"Me too." He whispered and she smiled shyly.

The moonlight glinted off her dark eyelashes and made her eyes look like sapphire stones. She looked so beautiful. He wanted to kiss her.

"You have cream on your face." She giggled and reached up to wipe it off. He noticed she let her hand linger on his cheek a second longer.

"Thanks." He reached out to tuck one lose strand of hair behind her ear. And then he noticed it.

Her gaze had travelled down from his eyes to his mouth.

He cupped her face with one hand and leaned in slowly, so that she could stop him if she wanted to. 

But she was kissing him back, the second their lips touched. His other hand had wrapped around her waist pulling her in closer while her hands were draped around his neck. It felt incredible and they were both breathless when they parted.

"Wow. I've wanted to do that for so long." He whispered, resting his forehead against her.

"How long?" She whispered back, her eyes closed.

"Practically since I saw you at football tryouts."

"Me too. And I guess now you know, why I never went out with with Caleb."

"I suppose I do." He smiled back.

"Do you have music on your phone?" 

"Yeah I guess so."

"We should dance."

"You're a wierdo." He laughed. 

Nevertheless, he took out his phone, put on a slow song, the sound turned down low so that only they could hear and put it in in front shirt pocket.

Nancy twirled in his arms.

"This was the song we danced to, at Adam's party." She said.

"We did? I don't remember."

"Oh shut up." She swatted his arm. "I saw you searching for this song, specifically."

"Okay. Okay, you got me. Cons of dating you. I'll never get away with anything." He grinned.

"You don't have to." She replied, hugging him.

  
At her door, he kissed her again, softly this time.

"This was really fun, Ned." 

"It was. I already can't wait for the next time."

"There will be a next time?"

"Oh no Drew, you're not getting rid of me so easily. There will be many more times." He smiled.

"Many many more." She smiled back.

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked reading this, please consider leaving a review!


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